Convertible chair



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheetl.

B. C. ODELL.

CONVERTIBLE GHAIR.

No. 394,716. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

2 sheets -sheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. 0. WELL.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

,' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN O. ODELL, OF KINGSTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THOMPSON,

PERLEY & IVAITE, OF BALDW'INSVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,716, dated December 18, 1888. Application filed January 28, 1888- Serial No. 262,238. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, BENJAMIN C. ODELL, of Kingston, in the county of I lster and State of New York, have invented a new and useful 5 Improvement in Convertible Chairs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that class of chairs known as convertible nursery-chairs and I designed chiefly for the use of small children.

The invention consists of certain details of construction, all as hereinafter set forth, by means of which the chair is made convertible from a high-chair of the ordinary form to I a low rocking-chair or to a rolling chair at pleasure. This convertibility I have effected by a simple construction and arrangement of parts.

The invention is shown embodied in a practically-operative chair in the accompanying drawings, in which V Figure 1 represents the chair in elevation in an elevated position. Fig. 2 shows the chair lowered in position to be used as a rock- 2 5 ing-chair. 3 and I represent details of construction.

In the drawings, A represents the top, seat, and frame of a chair of ordinary construction.

, The front legs a a of the chair-frame are pivoted to the upper ends of the rear crossed legs or rockers B B. The rear legs I) I) of the chair-frame are adapted to interlock with the upper ends of the front crossed legs C C.

The rear legs I B are designed to serve both 3 as legs and rockers. To this end they are made of general rocker form or contour. For lightness and better appearance I make them of two parts, the one (l curved to form the rocker-bearing and the other, 6, straight, or approximately so. The whole may be cut out of a single piece, or may be bent out of one piece, or may be made of two parts, as may be found most convenient or economical, or

I the part may be a single solid piece having a curved forwarder lower edge. The front legs C C cross these and are pivoted thereto at the point f of crossing. The upper ends of the legs C C are fitted to engage with the rear legs of the frame of the chair. This is conveniently done by forming the upper ends of C C with recesses g behind projections 71, the recesses being adapted to receive the round or cross-bar k, or equivalent pins, of the rear legs Z) of the frame. Any suitable form of interlock of the rear frame-legs and the legs C C may be used. The particular form shown is convenient, butmay be modified easily. The frame-legs b b are connected to the legs C C by links m n. The legs O C are arranged to fit inside of the frame-legs, and the links are pivoted at their upper ends to the inner faces of the lower side of the frame-legs. The lower ends of the links are slotted and connected to the outer face of the legs C by screws on which the links slide the length of the slots. The slots are made in length sufficient to allow the cross-bar or round of the frame to ride over the projections on the top of the legs 0 and to fit into the recess behind them. One link, a, has its slot at the upper end turned at right angles to form a locking-slot, so that the link when the chair is raised and the crossbar is in position in the upper ends of the legs 0 C may gravitate back to bring the locking-slot upon the screw, 7 5 thereby locking down the chair-frame to the legs and securing the whole structure firmly together. The lower end of the link, being inclined forward, will fall by gravity into place without any attention on the part of the user. The lower end of this link is turned out, as shown at o, to form a thumb-piece, for convenience of manipulation.

The legs C (J are pivoted to the inside of the rocker-legs B B. \Vhen the chair is lowered to form a rocking or rolling chair, the legs are horizontal. Their front ends are held under the foot-rest p, secured to the front frame-legs, and the round or cross-bar of the rear frame-legs rests upon the legs C 0 (J behind the point of their pivots on the rocker-legs. There is sufficient space between the legs O and B to allow the ends of the legs b to slip between them, as shown in Fig. 2, and thus the support of the chair will be taken up by the cross-bar k. Thus the legs C serve as levers to support the chairframe when the chair is lowered. Instead, however, the cross-bar or equivalent pins may project outside the rear frame-legs and rest on the rocker-legs to support the rear of the chair.

The construction described is such that the weight of the chair and occupant holdsthe legs 0 O and B B from spreading; but the links render the whole more secure and connect the parts so that they may be more conveniently raised in putting the chair in upright position.

The chair as described may be used a rocker without any wheels; but to render it more complete I provide wheels W \V on each rocker. These are made vertically adjustable, so as to be brought into use or not, at pleasure. Any form of vertical adjustable connection may be used for the wheels, butthat shown is convenient and secure. It consists of a pair of pivoted brackets, q q, (one for each wheel,) connected by a knucklejointed bar, 7". The brackets are pivoted on the upper or straight part of the rocker-leg and the joint of the connecting-bar opens downward.

Two studs or screws, 3 s, are set in the lower part of the rocker-leg in such position that when the brackets are down and the bar is brought up into horizontal position the brackets will be pressed forciblyagainst these studs, and thus the knuckle-joint, sprung into position against the pressure, will remain in place. The wheels areheld up by means of another stud, t, on the upper part of the rocker-leg, and on this (or on the front pivoting-bolt) one bracket rests when in the raised position, as shown in Fig. 5. The wheels are swung upward by first bending the knuckle-bar and then swinging up the wheels one after the other.

The chair is lowered by pushing forward the locking-link and lifting the chair-frame to disconnect it from the interlock with the rear legs, when it may be lowered into position. To restore it to its elevated position, it is necessary onlyto raise the chair-frame, which draws the legs C C and B B into elevated position, when the parts swing automatically into position and the lock falls by gravity into place.

I claim as my invention 1. In a convertible chair, a chair seat and frame, rocker-legs pivoted to said fra1ne,a second pair of legs crossing the rocker-legs .and having recesses formed in their upper ends and pivoted to the rocker legs at their point of intersection, and a locking-link connecting the chair-frame and the second pair of legs, and a pin or cross-bar on the chairframe, whereby in the raising of the chairframe the pin or cross-bar will engage with the recesses in the second pair of legs, thus locking the chair in position, substantially as described.

2. In a convertible chair, a chair seat and frame having a pair of rocker-legs pivoted to said frame and a second pair of legs crossing the rocker-legs and pivoted thereto at the intersection, interlocking connection between the second pair of legs and the frame of the chair, and slotted links on n, pivoted at one end to the chair-frame and at the other by a pin passing through the slot to the second pair of legs, one of said links having a supplemental slot connected to the main slot, whereby when the chair-frame is raised the pin will pass into said slot and bind against it, thus locking the chair in position, substantially as described.

3. In a convertible chair, a chair-seatframe having a pair of rocker-legs pivoted to said frame and a second pair of legs crossing the rocker-legs and pivoted thereto, and wheels attached to each of the rocker-legs, the wheels of each leg being connected by a jointed bar and adjustable simultaneously, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the rocker-legs of a convertible chair, a pair of wheels on each rockerleg, said wheels being pivoted on swinging brackets and each pair connected by a knuckle-joint bar, and studs on the rockers adapted to form bearings for the brackets of the wheels, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJ. C. ODELL.

lVitnesses:

'Jos. FORREST,

CHAs. L. STURTEVANT. 

